Longchamp is pleased to present Longchamp x Robert Indiana, a tribute to the American artist, featuring Indiana’s evocative LOVE artwork on its iconic Le Pliage® bag. Celebrating shared values of graphic simplicity, inventive design and optimistic colors, the collection combines the emotionalresonance of Indiana’s universal message with the appeal of Longchamp’s Le Pliage®.
Robert Indiana played a central role in the development of assemblage art, hard-edge painting and Pop Art with work that explores American identity and the power of language. Indiana’s image LOVE with its stacked format began its life in 1964 in a series of frottage drawings that Indiana created and sent to friends. The artist further developed his concept through a series of paintings, sculpture, and prints, which made LOVE an icon of 20th century art and one of the most recognizable works of art in the world.
“I have always admired the late American artist Robert Indiana, partly because I felt his work, which is so graphic in style and optimistic in tone, really matched the bold spirit and bright energy of Longchamp. Love is universal, a positive message that is understood all over the world, and I liked the idea of reproducing this message on Le Pliage®, a universally beloved bag. I love the idea of releasing an ephemeral collection created to last forever”, says Sophie Delafontaine, Longchamp Creative Director and grand-daughter of the founder. For The Robert Indiana Legacy Initiative, it was important to engage with a brand that respects the integrity of an artist’s work and truly appreciates the impact of Indiana’s genius with color and form.
The capsule comprises the LOVE image reproduced in three colorways adapted from Indiana’s original artworks, emblazoned across the canvas Le Pliage® travel bag, the shoulder bag and the pouch, as well as two new square iterations of the bag, one tote-sized, the other a mini cross-body style. The leather part of the collection sees the cowhide leather Le Pliage® in its XS version embossed with the LOVE image in three monochrome colorways. The emblem also appears as a cowhide leather keychain and printed in red on a white cotton T-shirt and grey cotton sweatshirt, both unisex style. Meanwhile a silk scarf pays homage to Indiana’s fascination with numerology, featuring his brightly colored numbers.
In accordance with Indiana’s translation of LOVE into different media, languages and colorways, the collection also features several exclusive bags interpreting additional Indiana artworks. A black cowhide leather Le Pliage® XS is available only in the Asia Pacific region and features Indiana’s number eight, a symbol of good luck in Chinese culture, which is embossed in red, the color of celebration and prosperity. A very exclusive edition of a black cowhide leather Le Pliage® XS comes embossed with a red LOVE emblem. A yellow Le Pliage® tote bag exclusive to the USA features Indiana’s 1963 diptych New Glory Penny, an oil painting based on his design for a new coin commissioned by the magazine Art in America.
